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2014-04-11

At last! The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun, the 1968 anime masterpiece, is coming to America! Discotek Media made the announcement yesterday on their Facebook page. No further details have yet been announced, including title, cover design, source material (Blu-Ray or DVD?), bonus supplements, retail price, or even a release date. I promise that as soon as I learn anything important, I will share the news with you.

Discotek Media has previously released three Toei Doga animated features: Puss in Boots (1969), Animal Treasure Island (1971), and Taro the Dragon Boy (1976). I remain hopeful that more of Toei's classic animated features could arrive on our shores. And Horus is the most important title of the lot.

Horus, Prince of the Sun has been a special passion of mine ever since I first watched it in 2005, when the UK DVD (a poor, third-rate release) and fansub (a far better choice) were released. It's a film I champion as a masterpiece - "The Citizen Kane of Anime" - and believe that it deserves a proper release here in the States. I am already neck-deep in design notes for the supplemental materials, and am banging on Discotek's doors so we can work on the project. I must stress that I am currently NOT working with them; I am only sending inquiries, with specific outlines and notes.

If you'd like to help Ghibli Blog, please contact Discotek Media and ask for us to be included on the BD/DVD production. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Stay tuned, kids.

Discotek Media announced today that they have acquired the rights to Sherlock Hound, and will be releasing the complete TV series on DVD box set this September 30. They will include both Japanese and English-language versions, perhaps using a dual-sided format similar to the older (now out-of-print) Pioneer DVD releases. It will be great to see this classic anime series return to American shores, and especially nice to have all 26 episodes in one box.

Sherlock Hound originated as a 1981 TV anime series, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated at Japan's Telecom studio (associated with TMS), alongside such luminaries of the period as Yoshifumi Kondo and Kazuhide Tomonaga. Unfortunately, only six episodes were completed when the project was scuttled. Fortunately, interest in the series was revived after two episodes were shown in theaters alongside Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind in 1984. This led to a new production at TMS in 1984 and 1985.

Personally, I find the original 1981 Miyazaki-directed episodes to be far superior to the later episodes; you can spot the dramatic drop-off in talent, as most of the best animators and artists followed Miya-san to Studio Ghibli. That said, this is a really fun cartoon show that doesn't aspire to be anything more than a really fun cartoon show, with MacGuffin-fueled plots and ridiculous car chases. And having English dubs helps tremendously with selling to a wider audience.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Sherlock Hound again. I do have the three Pioneer DVDs with the Miyazaki episodes (they're scattered about, the fiendish bastards!), but I'll definitely pick up the new Discotek release when it arrives this September.

No word yet on extras or bonus material, such as essays or audio commentaries. As always, I'm happy to contribute and am regularly harrassing the Discotek people with emails. Maybe I should send a fruit basket or something. Who do I have to call around here?

2014-04-04

Take a look at these terrific My Neighbor Totoro t-shirt designs, courtesy of art website TeeFury. The first design is titled, "Spirit of the Seasons," and was created by artist "queenmob," and the second, "Totorofoot," was designed by artist "louisros." The TeeFury site sold both shirts in a 24-hour flash sale for only $11, and allowed fans to vote for their favorite design. I understand that the winner, "Totorofoot," will be available for a limited time at $18 each.

In addition, TeeFury offers a 12" x 16" matte cover for sale, and a chance to win a coffee mug, with these Totoro designs. Very nice. I do hope these items remain on sale for a longer time; it always seems that as soon as anyone learns about these short-term sales promotions, they've ended and left town. Trust me on this one, folks: the internet requires a little time for news to spread. Make these Totoro prints available for a few months and you'll be far more successful.

Thanks to Stephanie Wood at TeeFury for sending word to Ghibli Blog. My apologies for not publishing this news item earlier; we've really had a crazy busy couple of days here at Ghibli Blog HQ, including Nakamichi cassette deck repairs, a job department relocation, and a sprained ankle (thank you very much, April Blizzard). Oy, vey! I really need to get paid for this website.

Anyway, visit TeeFury, have a look around, and pick up one of these excellent Totoro items while they're available.